World Mental Health Day Campaign

Augusta, VP Community and Welfare

This was a week-long campaign that began on 8th October with a range of activities across our campus sites. The main aim of this campaign was to continue to raise the awareness of Mental health on our campuses, inform both new and returning students about the importance of self-care, the support services available so they are able to effectively signpost others and share student views on both mental and physical health. It was also aimed at sending out inspiring messages from students to those currently struggling with their mental health.

I took over the UWE Bristol and The Students' Union Instagram story to share mental health conversations with students around campus and I received really positive and encouraging responses - few students opened up about their current challenges and were informed about the support available and also the strategy the University and The Students’ Union are currently working towards.

Green shoe laces were given out to our sports teams for their first home and away game matches on Wednesday to raise mental health awareness. Some of the teams included volleyball, netball, dance, women’s football and ultimate frisbee. At Bower Ashton, around 30 students had free Fairtrade breakfast which followed with a Mindfulness workshop. Our Advice Centre Manager, Clare Clark and the UWE Wellbeing team also visited Bower and engaged with lots of students.

At Glenside, a representative from the Care Forum was present and she had discussions with students about mental health related volunteering opportunities. At Frenchay, we had the Gardening for wellbeing workshop with the Green Team, a male mental health event aimed at addressing societal pressures, a yoga session and a mental health awareness workshop - which all went really well. The students were very positive with most attendees attesting to the benefits of the sessions in relation to mental health and wellbeing.

Additionally, my promotional video for WMHD had over 3,000 views across the social media platforms – this video highlighted an important message for students struggling and some of the activities planned for the week. We were pleased to raise £171.92 through our charity sale for ‘Off the Record Bristol’ and we extend our sincere gratitude to very student who donated.

Published: 05 Dec 2018 11:04
, Last updated: 05 Dec 2018 11:05

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